Darkest Wonderland
by xXxBlackwaterQueenxXx
Summary: Alice and Hatter go back to visit Wonderland - but in their absence Wonderland has succumbed to unknown darkness, and danger lurks among its ruins. Now a land of twisted shadows, how can they possibly save a world whose dark insanity defies imagination?
1. Chapter 1

**Heyy :] Soo this is my first Alice fanfic, and I got this idea from listening to two songs [Lady Gaga - Bad Romance & Rihanna - Rockstar 101. Yeah, I know, weird right? But if you've read my other fic Sweet Escape you should know by now I'm anything but normal :L] Anywho, um...I'm not really sure what to say. I'm a HUGEEEE Alice fan, and ever since I saw it I totally fell in love with Wonderland and it's weirdness and how everything is just plan wacky :D So somehow I got the idea of taking a darker approach to it ;]**

**This is set a month after the mini-series, and all will be explained! I know it's a probably a little uninteresting but next chapter is when everything kicks off :P**

**I really hope you like it! If there's any questions feel free to leave a review and ask :]**

**Em xx**

* * *

"Alice?" Grumbling, Alice buried her face further into her pillow and tried to hold onto sleep. "Alice, wake up."

"Don't wanna wake up," she mumbled. "'S too early."

"You said we needed to get up at eight – it's almost ten." Startled, Alice's head shot up off the pillow and she stared at the man leaning over her.

"_Ten_!" she gasped.

For a moment, Hatter could only look at her. She was propped up on her elbows, wild-eyed and her lovely long hair was everywhere, but she still managed to pull it off and look beautiful. Truthfully, he didn't think he'd ever get over the way she looked in the morning, or at any time for that matter. "Really!" Alice asked, sitting up fully and pulling her hair out of her face. Unable to keep a straight face at her concern, Hatter gave her one of his famous dimpled grins.

"Nah, love," he said. "I'm just kidding. It's half eight." Alice rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"Very funny," she said. "But thank you." Still grinning widely, Hatter leaned down and kissed her temple.

"No problem. I'll go put the kettle on." Alice couldn't help but smile after him as he walked away.

She couldn't possibly be mad at him – that was kind of impossible, and whenever she did get annoyed with him it didn't last very long. Besides, they really did need to get a move on. Reluctantly, Alice pushed the covers off and got to her feet, looking around in a daze for the clothes she'd laid out the night before. She really wished they didn't have to get up this early. Not on a Saturday at least. But they both worked weekdays, and neither was happy about getting up at all on Sundays, so Saturday was the only day left. Alice yawned and pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, then shambled into the kitchen. Her and Hatter's apartment wasn't big, but she liked that about it. It was cosy and welcoming; she never could wait to get home after a day at work. Especially if Hatter was already there.

A month had passed since Alice had unexpectedly found him in her hallway, looking nervous but ecstatic to see her again. She'd attempted to try and explain the whole kissing each other thing to her mother, but Carol had simply raised her hands, said "I don't want to know, Alice." and gone to watch her show in the living room.

It took a day, Wonderland time, before Hatter was able to follow her through the Looking Glass. Jack had presented him with a single satchel, containing a key, a folder of documents, a cell phone and a hefty amount of money, and then given him Alice's phone number and address. Then, the next thing Hatter knew, he was being pushed through the Looking Glass by one of Jack's Suits. The key had been to an apartment near Alice's house, the documents every possible kind of I.D under the sun and the money enough to last for a long while. At first Hatter had found Alice's world confusing, but he was a fast learner and quickly adjusted.

In the beginning, although she never said it out loud, Alice felt like her visit to Wonderland had changed her. Mostly where Hatter was concerned – before falling through the Looking Glass she'd been terrified of getting attached to someone, of letting them in, because deep in her heart she couldn't shake the feeling that they would leave her. Leave her like her father did. But now...now she often told her Hatter just how much she loved him, and a couple of days ago she'd finished moving the last of her things into his apartment – now _their _apartment. Likely her mother thought she'd gone crazy, but Alice didn't care. As long as she had Hatter, she was happy.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter when she walked in, already fully dressed and sipping his tea. His odd taste in clothing hadn't left him in Alice's world, and today he was wearing black jeans – which he'd developed quite a liking for – a deep blue silk shirt with a silver paisley pattern and a black leather jacket, just like the one he'd worn when they'd first met. To top it all off a black trilby hat sat on top of his unruly hair. Hatter saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up, smiling broadly at her. "We match," he said, gesturing from his shirt to hers. "I like it." Alice laughed softly when he winked and picked up her own cup of tea from the counter. She hadn't really liked it before meeting Hatter, but since then she'd acquired a strange fondness for the stuff. They drank their tea in comfortable silence, occasionally catching each other's eye and smiling, trying to get some excitement together for the long day ahead.

They tried to visit Wonderland once a week. So far, they'd managed to. Alice would've tried to visit every day if she could, but it just wasn't possible for them. So they settled for every Saturday – which, in Wonderland time, meant they only saw dear old Charlie once a year. They spent a day in Wonderland before heading home, but seeing as Wonderland was pretty much unpredictable Hatter had come up with the idea of going fairly early. That way, if something happened and they ended up staying a few days longer than intended, their absence would go unnoticed. "Ready to go, love?" asked Hatter, waiting patiently by the front door.

"Yeah," answered Alice as she slipped on her black jacket. "Did you remember that book for Charlie?"

"I already put it in your bag," he said with a smile. "Along with all the pictures that Jack asked for."

"It's odd, but I think I can understand the fascination Wonderlanders have with the 'real world'," said Alice, opening the door.

"I don't blame them," Hatter said as he locked the door behind them and slid the key into his pocket. "Your world's amazing – a different kind of amazing, true, but still."

He interlaced their fingers as they walked, unable to stop the warmth that spread in him from the contact. He was so lucky to have her, to have his Alice. All the effort he'd put into getting her to trust him, the times he'd risked his life, the torture, leaving everything behind – it was all worth it. Hatter would do it all again, for her. What he'd been doing before he met Alice, that wasn't living. That was simply existing. But she'd given him purpose, made him feel loved for the first time in forever. She saw the good in him, thought incredibly highly of him and refused to let anyone convince her otherwise. She saw the bad too, but accepted it and loved him for it, and he didn't think that anyone would ever be able to do that.

They spent the ten minute walk laughing and smiling the way they always did when they were together, wondering what interesting new contraptions Charlie would have to show them and whether or not the Jack and the Duchess would have had a child yet. The last time the four of them had spoken it was definitely something the King and his Queen had been thinking about, having gotten married soon after Hatter had followed Alice through the Looking Glass. "If they have, I hope for Jack's sake it's a boy," said Hatter, laughing. "Can you imagine him having a mini-Duchess to deal with on top of the full-grown one?"

"Now _that's _something I would like to see," Alice said as she grinned.

The Looking Glass was just how they left it, propped up against the wall of the abandoned building looking brand new, although with an antique feel to it. "Home sweet home, here we come," Alice murmured under her breath. She squeezed Hatter's hand, excitement filling her. Apart from her lazy Sundays at home with Hatter, this was always one of her favourite parts of the week.

"Let's hope they remembered we were coming," Hatter murmured back, grinning.

"One the count of three, then?"

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" They instant Hatter's foot connected with the shimmering surface of the Looking Glass he was overwhelmed by the sensation of tumbling. Colours swirled and sparkled all around him as he fell, the exhilaration and speed leaving him short of breath. Next to him, maintaining a tight grip on his hand, Alice was laughing despite the slight breathing issue and the smile on her face made Hatter's heart pick up its pace. He loved seeing his Alice happy.

They landed with a light thud in a heap on the stone floor of the room that held the Looking Glass, still not accustomed enough to the journey to be able to step gracefully out of the Glass like the Suits could. Laughing, Hatter picked himself up and then held out a hand to Alice, helping her to her feet. "You alright, Alice?"

"I'm fine," she said, dusting herself down. "We really need to practice our landings." Hatter laughed again and she smiled warmly, genuinely happy to be back. "Well, Jack," she began as she turned around. "Aren't you going to say – " Alice froze, her sentence unfinished. "H-Hatter...what's...what's happened?" Hatter moved closer to her, eyes widening, but didn't answer her question.

The last time they'd visited the hall had been brightly light, welcoming and full of people waiting to greet them. It had been noisy, but warm and familiar, and the atmosphere always felt like one of celebration. _This can't be the same place_, thought Alice. _It just can't be_...The hall before them was dark and gloomy, lit only by the moonlight that filtered in through the large window behind the Looking Glass. Cobwebs hung from corners of the ceiling and the Looking Glass itself looked dusty and old. Their voices echoed off the walls; Alice moved even closer to Hatter, repressing a shudder at how cold the room suddenly seemed. Where was everyone? "Alice," Hatter began quietly. He reached out and took her arm. "Maybe we should go...this doesn't feel right. Not at all." He'd spent his entire life listening to his instincts, and they'd saved his skin more times than he liked to think about. And right now an alarm bell was going off in the back of his mind, shrieking loudly that this was all wrong. Very, very wrong indeed. Hatter's eyes darted around the room, taking the scene in, his mind spinning with questions and failing to come up with any reasonable answers. Had the Glass malfunctioned? Or was it working fine – but something had happened while they'd been away? Where was Jack? Why was the place looking so old and unkempt?

"Hatter!" Alice's startled whisper dragged him out of his bewildered thoughts, and he looked down at her. She faced him with eyes full of fear and confusion, tugging on his arm. "Look!" she whispered, turning her gaze straight ahead. Hatter looked up too, and instantly pulled her close to him. He held her tight, ready to push her back through the Looking Glass if he had to. In one of the darkest corners of the hall a gaggle of Oysters had once stood, waiting to go home. Now in their place was nothing but shadow and darkness.

And from out of the pitch black loomed a pair of bright green slitted eyes.

* * *

***Le gasp!* What's happened! :O I'm off to put up the next chapter :] Reviews are always appreciated xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chaper two :] This is where everything really starts to happen. I stayed up til 3am writing this :L I hope you enjoy my little twists and loops ;]**

* * *

"Alice," Hatter whispered, slowly manoeuvring himself to stand in front of her. "If I tell you to run, you go back through the Glass, okay?"

"I'm not leaving you with...whatever that is!" Alice whispered back. The eyes were small but growing steadily larger as the darkness around them seemed to move. Hatter tensed, his heart beating too fast for all the wrong reasons. Whatever it was, he'd never seen eyes like that in Wonderland before. He'd seen his fair share of Tea addicts with huge pupils and unfocused stares; he'd even had a few show up at his Tea House with bad cases of Dart-Eye, but the faces never became familiar.

Those were the serious addicts, and they usually overdosed. They'd bounce around bidding everything they had for a single bottle of Excitement or Joy or Bliss, eyes as big as saucers with huge, undilated pupils that flickered all over the place, unable to focus on one thing for longer than a second. Talking to one was normally an uncomfortable experience, especially if they had one eye on the ceiling and the other on the floor and were, like in the worst cases, twitching. A lot. The eyes locked onto his gaze, old and piercing, and wouldn't release him. Hatter met the intense stare evenly and got ready to push Alice through the Looking Glass if it came closer. "Don't mind her."

Hatter and Alice both spun round, startled and searching for the source of the voice. To their left, half shrouded in shadow so that they hadn't seen it at first, was a table. A little table with four metal legs that scooped in at the middle and flicked out at the ends, covered in a neat white tablecloth. Three pristine china teacups – white, with a delicate vine pattern in white could have been a dark blue or green colour – sat in their saucers on fancy lace doilies in front of three little chairs. On a fourth chair, sipping from a fourth teacup, sat a man. And he was anything but ordinary. Alice stared at him, mouth hanging slightly open, and wondered what world she and Hatter had fallen into.

"She likes sitting in the dark over there," the man continued, setting down his teacup. "Although I can't for the life of me understand why." As if on cue a soft padding noise caught Alice and Hatter's attention and they looked back to their right. The eyes finally emerged from the darkness attached to the body of a little cat. It considered them for a moment, then made its way over the man, claws clicking against the floor and tawny fur glinting in the moonlight as it went. The cat leapt onto one of the chairs by the man's side and as he scratched its head a small smile formed on his lips.

Then he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a large gold pocket watch. "You're terribly late you know," he said, although his tone bore no trace of annoyance. "I've seen rabbits with better time-keeping abilities, if you'll pardon my saying so." The man leant suddenly into the darkness, expression invisible. And then there was a quiet _click! _and the area around him was bathed in a low, warm light. He turned back to face them and they saw that a huge smile had lit up his features. "Come!" he said earnestly, gesturing to the two free seats. "Drink tea! I could use a little company."

Alice looked up at Hatter, asking him silently with her eyes if he looked safe. Hatter hesitated for a moment. Trusting strangers was a problem he'd had since he started smuggling. Often they ended up trying to kill him – he had scars that reminded him to be wary of those he didn't know. Putting his Alice in danger was the last thing he wanted to do, especially in this dark place they'd fallen into. But the odd man just sat in his chair quietly humming a little tune as he poured himself a second cup of tea from the small, china teapot in the centre of the table. He appeared safe enough, although definitely not quite sane, and Hatter liked to think he was a pretty good judge of character now. Even though Charlie's strange antics had made Hatter fear for the man's sanity, he could sense good in him, and that had turned out alright.

Slowly, he nodded, and allowed Alice to gently lead him over to the table. He smiled at the tall lamp standing next to the table and the cushy armchair further to its right. "Nice touch," he said with a nod at the furniture.

"Thank you," said the man, smiling. "I rather think it finishes it off, if I do say so myself." He continued to smile at the items for a moment with his head cocked slightly to one side. Then he abruptly turned back to Alice and Hatter and motioned to the two seats again. "Please, sit!" he said. "It's been so long since I've had a proper tea party, you know, so let's make this one memorable." Alice sank cautiously into her chair, regarding the stranger before her with an almost fearful sense of awe. Close up, he looked even more odd.

His skin was pale, contrasting with the shock of bright orange hair that stuck out from under the brim of his large top hat, reminding Alice of Hatter's hair. The top hat itself was a rich plum colour, and a playing card was stuck into the band. The Ace of...Teapots? He wore a coat like the one Hatter had given to Alice, the same deep shade of plum, over a dark red silk shirt and a navy pinstriped waistcoat. But it was his eyes that Alice couldn't help but stare at. They didn't seem to have a single colour, instead changing and morphing while she watched. In the space of a few seconds they'd gone from green through to blue and somehow purple. He continued to chatter away in an old-fashioned-sounding British accent while he poured them both some tea, leaving Alice feeling somewhat bewildered. "I can't tell you how lovely it is to finally see your faces," he babbled. "I was prepared to wait longer; of course, my little setup may be fairly unusual, but I rather like it."

"Excuse me," Hatter interjected as soon as the man paused for breath. "But who are you?" The man set the teapot down with a light thud and stared at them both in surprise.

"Good heavens, you really don't know, do you?" The two of them shook their heads warily. But instead of getting angry another wide grin appeared on his face, and he rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. "Excellent! I do _love _meeting people with no idea. It's a tricky business when everyone knows who you are – although I expect I _will _have to tell you now..." His smile faded for a second, then returned. "But no matter! All with the interests of your welfare at heart, after all..." He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said matter-of-factly, "I am the Mad Hatter." A look of pride came over his face as he set his cup down again. "I'm sure you've heard of me. The fame can be a little too overwhelming sometimes, but it can have its benefits."

"The Mad Hatter?" Alice repeated. "_You're _the original Mad Hatter?"

"The one and only," the Mad Hatter said. "Though why they felt the need to portray me as an elderly gentlemen, I have no idea...The original Alice simply would have loved you, my dear, she was such the friendly little thing. Still, you're the Alice of the present, and that's what matters." He turned to look at Hatter, who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It couldn't be true – he couldn't possibly be sitting at a table with the most famous person in all of Wonderland, he just couldn't be. "You, David – Hatter, excuse me – are the 'Hatter' of your generation, of the present. Although I will admit you're significantly more sane than I."

"And...Mad March, he...was a different, uh...version of the March Hare?" Hatter asked, swallowing. He remembered March well – the old March, before the Queen took him and set Dee and Dum to work on his mind. Hatter didn't have many friends, let alone close ones. In his line of work it was often the way. But March had been one. It was his idea for Hatter to open the Tea House, and to go into business together. Before he disappeared.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," answered the Mad Hatter. "Driven all the wrong kinds of mad, poor fellow." Looking from Alice to Hatter and back again, his expression turned slightly hopeful. "You wouldn't happen to have seen good old Hare, would you?" he asked. "It's just, he did promise he would come, and he's never normally this late..." The Mad Hatter trailed off, glancing at the last, unused teacup before his gaze dropped to regard his own drink in dismay. Alice reached for Hatter's hand under the table, squeezing it gently. This was a question she had to ask, although she didn't think Hatter would like the answer.

"Uh...Mad Hatter...where exactly are we?"

"Why, my dear – Wonderland, of course!" Next to her Hatter sighed deeply.

"I thought so," he said. He looked around the room again with eyes full of concern and Alice squeezed his hand for the second time. No matter how much Hatter insisted that his home was with her, Wonderland was his home, too. "What happened to it?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. Alice sighed and lifted her teacup to her lips, at a loss for what else to do.

"They waited," began the Mad Hatter, pouring his third cup of tea. "They waited, but you never came." He took a sip, raising his eyebrows slightly. "They said it was the Looking Glass. That something had happened to it. Something went wrong. But they couldn't figure out what exactly had made it...malfunction...So they waited." The Mad Hatter set his cup down and sighed. "That was twenty years ago, now."

"Twenty years!" cried Alice, horrified. "But it's only been a week!" This time it was Hatter's turn to squeeze her hand as he fought back the steadily growing feeling of loss that was turning his heart cold.

"In your world, Alice," said the Mad Hatter. "When the Looking Glass changed so did time. Nobody really understood what had happened, or why. So the King ordered the room to be guarded at all times in case you showed up out of the blue. And then the Queen had a son, Winston David Heart. I came back round about then. The Queen didn't like the original story characters, you see, so when she seized power Hare and I went away for a while. By the time I came back King Jack had overthrown her, and everyone was talking about the 'Hero and Heroine of Wonderland'." He paused, looking thoughtful.

"They wrote books about you, you know. There was a statue, in the courtyard of the Palace – " He glanced at the rotating doors as he spoke " – but, well...it's not really there anymore." Frowning slightly the Mad Hatter adjusted his hat on his head before leaning his elbow on the table and propping his chin up in his hand. "By the time the King sent his Suits through the Glass to check on you, it had...shifted. It didn't lead to your world anymore. It lead to another one. One so dark and so very, very mad...When things started coming through the Looking Glass there was nothing anyone could do to stop them – they were too powerful, too evil. And then," the Mad Hatter concluded with a gesture to their surroundings. "Wonderland was lost."

"But what happened to them?" Alice demanded. "Jack, the Duchess, Number Ten, Charlie – "

"Ah, you mean Sir Charles?" cried the Mad Hatter suddenly, his dismayed expression turning suddenly into a grin. "Ah yes, fantastic man! Mad as a teapot of dormice! Absolutely fantastic..." He kept grinning at Alice and Hatter as he finished his tea. "Last I heard he was leading the Alliance, bringing the five corners of Wonderland together and whatnot," he explained with a laugh. "As for the King, Queen and this 'Number Ten' fellow, I have no idea, I'm afraid." They were silent for almost an entire minute after that. The Mad Hatter hummed quietly under his breath while he gave Hatter and Alice some time for it all to sink in. He was in the process of rummaging in a bag at his feet when Alice finally broke the silence.

"How did you know we were coming?" she asked, fairly sure that her voice would stay steady now. She eyed the slightly visible chain of his pocket watch with curiosity; hadn't her father told her that there was no need for watches in Wonderland?

"Sir Charles predicted your return," answered the Mad Hatter as he continued to rummage around. "He said you would both come back eventually, and that when you did you would bring Wonderland out of the darkness once more. I was faced with having a lot of spare time on my hands, so I decided to wait here for you." He straightened up, clutching a tin of salmon and a can opener. "I told Chess, here," he began, opening the tin, "to go back to Hare so that she'd be safe." Tipping the salmon onto a cracked saucer on the floor, he smiled fondly at the cat as it rushed from the chair to receive its next meal. "But, as always, she had a mind of her own."

Hatter put his now empty teacup down, shaking his head.

"How are _we _supposed to save Wonderland? _Again_?"

"I was instructed that, upon your arrival, I am to take you to the headquarters of the Resistance immediately. However, seeing as the headquarters doesn't actually exist anymore and I don't know where to find the King, it looks like I'll be taking you somewhere else. Hopefully we can contact the Resistance from there, find the King and then hook you up with the Alliance as soon as possible." Raising her eyebrows, Alice looked at Hatter.

"Here we go again," she said.

"Let's hope I don't get shot this time," said Hatter, rolling his eyes.

"Then it's settled!" the Mad Hatter said as he got to his feet. "In that case, we must be off – we're wasting valuable time!" Alice and Hatter stood up, chairs scraping against the stone floor, and resigned themselves to another spontaneous, thoroughly insane adventure. The Mad Hatter dashed around, grabbing a worn-looking cloth satchel seemingly out of nowhere and muttering on about prophecies and saving Wonderland as he went. Holding the satchel open with one hand, he took the corners of the tablecloth in the other and deposited the whole thing in his bag with a clatter, teapot, doilies and all. Then he switched the lamp off and lifted the bag onto his left shoulder, turning to face the Cheshire cat. "Come on then, Chess," he said. "Time to go." The cat padded out from behind the table obediently and then jumped. She perched on the Mad Hatter's right shoulder, sitting there comfortably as if she were a pirate's parrot. "Let's go," said the Mad Hatter with an excited grin at Alice and Hatter before he turned and started off in the direction of the rotating doors.

Alice and Hatter exchanged amused glances and then hurried after him, with no idea of what lay ahead.

* * *

**I really hope Hatter and Alice's characters came across okay in this :S I also have an insane fondess for the Mad Hatter ^^! Anywho, I'll try and start on Chapter three as soon as I can, but I have another fic to update AND a history exam AND a geography exam *rolls eyes* so bear with me :] Reviews = love xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is finally up :] Got there in the end! This chapter starts to show just how extensive the damage to Wonderland is.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Em xx**

* * *

The rotating doors creaked eerily as they passed through them and out into the courtyard of the Palace. On the outside it was easier to see how bad a state of disrepair the Palace had fallen into. The walls were badly cracked and greying, crumbling in places, reaching up towards a thick blanket of dark clouds. In the centre of the courtyard stood the jagged base of the statue that the Mad Hatter had mentioned, surrounded by large chunks of stone and covered in twisting ivy. The edges of the courtyard had once been lined with flowers and little trees; but now the rose beds and branches were black, the flowers and leaves long since dead. The Mad Hatter – who walked in front of them, humming away – looked strangely colourful in comparison. Hatter surveyed their depressingly gloomy surroundings with increasing grief.

This...this horrible, horrible place – this was where he'd grown up. The world he'd spent the last twenty years living in. But with all the colour gone, all the oddities that made Wonderland what it was vanished without a trace, it was hard to believe he'd once called this place home. He was still regarding the dead plants around him woefully when the Mad Hatter reached the main gate. It loomed up far above their heads, standing half-open onto a winding road that led down to level ground. "This way," he said as he pushed the rusty metal gate open further.

The hinges squeaked in protest as they were forced to open for the first time in God knew how long, the sound echoing eerily. Alice and Hatter followed him through the gate and found themselves looking down on the Kingdom below. Hatter froze, completely rigid. "Oh," Alice whispered. "Oh, Hatter!" She went to his side and reached for his hand instinctively. The Mad Hatter paused mid-step, turning back to watch their reactions. It was not very curious, he concluded, that they should be so shocked at what they saw – what he found most odd was that they had blatantly been oblivious as to what had happened to Wonderland. _The Oyster World _is_ very cut off from our reality, _the Mad Hatter thought. _But then, why would the Other World only force its presence on Wonderland, and not the Oysters? Curiouser and curiouser..._

After the downfall of his mother, Jack had built a new Palace to symbolise new beginnings. That Palace had once looked down on a vast expanse of forest and rolling hills. The view never failed to catch Alice's breath every time she saw it; she'd never seen such vivid beauty in her world, and that was partly what made Wonderland seem so special to her. But now it took her breath away for a completely different reason. In places, the trees were nothing but clusters of twisted, skeletal branches, black, as if scorched. Sections of grass spread out dirt-brown and dead into the distance. The trees that still had their leaves and the grass that was still alive had lost their bold emerald and harlequin colours – now they were painted several deeper, darker shades of purple and blue. The Mad Hatter supposed you could see it in a magical way; but in comparison Wonderland was no longer magnificently bright and peculiar – it was surreal in a wicked, nightmarish way. Tears brimmed in Alice's eyes at the frightful sight.

Despite the awful first impression, she'd come to love Wonderland. It was her second home, her Hatter's home. And to see it so bare and broken, all the life and happiness stripped away: it killed her. All those poor people, the strange Creatures, their _friends_...just...gone? Alice looked up. Hatter's mask of calm composure had slipped, and he stared at the land before him with horror and grief on his face. "Alice..." he murmured. "It's...it's all gone!" Hatter looked down at her, and Alice's heart ached to see his own eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth and tried to speak through the lump in her throat.

"It'll be okay," she said firmly – or at least tried to. Her voice shook more than she would have liked – "We'll fix it, Hatter. We will. I promise."

Alice expected him to refuse her help and fuss about her safety, as usual. But instead he just nodded slowly and turned back to look once more at the burnt landscape. She was glad; she appreciated his concern, but he wasn't going to deal with this on his own. Wonderland was just as important to her as it was to him. Hatter swallowed and blinked the tears out of his eyes. As much as he hated his Alice to see him so weak, the damage that had been done to his home had hit him hard. But there was no point in grieving much longer – he and Alice would fix what had been done. If they could do it before, they could certainly do it again. "Yeah," he whispered. "We'll make Wonderland right again." He turned back to Alice and gave a small smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. Alice did her best to smile back and tugged gently on his hand.

"Let's get going then. No time to waste..."

Smiling slightly to himself, the Mad Hatter turned on his heel and began walking again. Perhaps Sir Charles' prophecy would come true after all. "We should reach the safe-house by nightfall, if we maintain our current pace," he said, reaching up to scratch the Cheshire cat's head.

"What's the time?" asked Alice. The seemingly never ending stretch of grey clouds made it impossible to tell the time through light alone. The Mad Hatter stopped to let them catch up, considering the clouds overhead, using a hand to shield his eyes from sunlight that didn't exist.

"I would say around midday, my dear. I can only hazard a guess."

"But...what about your watch?" Alice gestured to his coat in confusion.

"Oh, that old thing?" The Mad Hatter laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "It's been broken for _years_, it's completely useless."

Of several things Hatter was now sure: A) That the man leading them to the supposed 'safe-house' was most definitely the Mad Hatter, and he was without a doubt the brightest thing for miles. And B) The Mad Hatter was either very odd or simply insane. "Come on," said the Mad Hatter, starting to walk again. Alice and Hatter exchanged looks of confusion and doubt about the man's sanity, then followed after him. As he walked Hatter studied the sky above them. The clouds didn't even seem to be moving. And where were all the usual noises? Why was it that he could only hear their footsteps on the severely-weathered road and the Mad Hatter's soft humming, and not any animals, insects or birds? The air around them was thick and heavy, without wind; a storm was definitely brewing.

"Where is everyone?" he asked a few minutes later, looking up to the sky again. "Every_thing_? Where are all the birds?" Alice swept her gaze across the clouds, wondering if there really were no birds in the sky. After a moment she narrowed her eyes, and lifted an arm to point.

"But...aren't those birds over there?" Hatter looked to where she was pointing and saw a circling mass of black dots in the air in the distance. As they watched the dots spiralled and swooped elegantly.

"Those aren't birds," said the Mad Hatter without looking up or stopping. He continued to stroll with his back to their puzzled faces. "They're Valkyries. They came through the Looking Glass – half-human hybrids. Rather unpleasant things, if you ask me. Don't get on the wrong side of one if you can help it."

"Are...are they dangerous?" murmured Alice, brow creased slightly in worry. Just how many monstrosities had seeped into Wonderland in their absence? The Mad Hatter shrugged.

"Occasionally," he said. "Last week a group of them attacked the Resistance Headquarters. Caterpillar and some others managed to get out alive, but they've been missing since then, I believe. The Headquarters was completely destroyed and many are still uncounted for."

"We'll take that as a yes then," Hatter muttered under his breath. He didn't like being in this situation. Not at all. Especially with his Alice here, so endangered. He'd promised himself he wouldn't let that happen to her again, but here he was with his promise broken and a huge problem on his hands. He guessed they could consider their 'visit' extended.

For another twenty minutes they walked in silence, before the road gradually started to level out and flatten. Ahead of them the road began to curve to the left. The dirt track was riddled with potholes and ruts and weeds, growing steadily worse to the point where it was barely a road at all. Alice glanced back over her shoulder at the palace, standing dilapidated and haunting on the cliff-top overlooking the expanse of dead forest. She hoped that she would see it again, preferably restored to its former glory.

Hatter was more preoccupied with where the Mad Hatter was going. The road – or, rather, path – led towards the living trees, disappearing into their purpley-blue depths. It also led in the direction of those Valkyrie things; they'd supposedly torn a secret headquarters of the Resistance apart, and killed who knew how many people – wasn't that reason enough to stay well away? And that was before you got round to the they're-not-even-human part. What exactly were they? Half human and half bird? How would that even work?

The Mad Hatter had said himself that they were nasty things, so why was he going _towards _them? Why wasn't he going in the direction of the ramshackle, towering city in the distance? With any luck Jack would have preserved Hatter's teashop, and they could stop there and pick some things up. Unless the Tea addicts had gotten to it after the Looking Glass shifted and things started to break down...But then, Hatter supposed, there wouldn't actually be any Tea addicts anymore. If Jack sent all the Oysters home then there wouldn't be any Tea left. He didn't even want to think about what kind of trouble that would have led to.

"This way," directed the Mad Hatter when he noticed that Alice and Hatter were starting to lag behind. He turned and gestured with his hand for them to hurry up. "Being on the main road isn't safe these days, once we're under the cover of the trees we'll be taking a more secretive course." Hatter raised his eyebrows, uncertain, but took Alice's hand and followed after the strange man obediently. The "road" all but disappeared when it reached the treeline, it was so overgrown and weathered. The Mad Hatter strolled into the forest as if he did it every day – which, Alice thought, he probably did. Alice and Hatter stood at the edge of the treeline for a few seconds, hesitating.

"Looks like there's no other option but to go in," Alice whispered, regarding the trees with uncertainty.

"No-pe," agreed Hatter, popping the 'p' like he had done when they'd first met.

"Come on!" the Mad Hatter called over his shoulder. Alice and Hatter looked at each other, nodded once and then hurried after him. The forest engulfed them in semi-darkness almost immediately. At first they could barely see the retreating back of the Mad Hatter's coat, and they almost stumbled several times as they rushed to catch up with him. He turned off the track as soon as they appeared by his side, disappearing into thicker undergrowth where the trees were closer together. "Follow me and you won't get lost," he said. But that was easier said than done. Even when their eyes adjusted to the darkness everything seemed to have a blue-ish purple tint to it, because of the colour of the tree leaves. The Mad Hatter's plum coat turned a dark navy in the odd light and at times it was hard to distinguish him from the black forest floor and dark tree trunks.

"Thank God I wore jeans this time," Alice mumbled as she lost her footing and Hatter caught her before she could fall. He smiled, keeping an arm round her waist while they continued after the Mad Hatter.

"Yeah, but if I'd known it was going to be this dark in here I wouldn't have worn black."

"I hope we get out of here soon...I can hardly see you."

"Note to self: Black and dark forests don't go together," Hatter chuckled.

"Quite the contrary," corrected the Mad Hatter. "You'll be well hidden if we're spotted." Alice rolled her eyes and sighed.

"There's _more _things to worry about? I'd have thought by now I'd be used to danger, but I guess not."

"It'll be okay love," Hatter assured her. "We'll find out how to fix what's been done to Wonderland, and then we'll go home."

* * *

**Hope to be back with Chapter 4 soon :] Please leave a review and let me know what you think! xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heyy! So I'm finally back with Chapter 4 :L Sorry for the horribly long delay! D: I've been so busy running around with school work and trying to sort my Blackwater fic and all this other stuff that the time had all gone by before I'd even realised it!**

**So I won't ramble on, I hope you like this chapter :]**

**Enjoy!**

**Em xx**

* * *

On and on the forest seemed to go, a never-ending maze of sharp dips and uneven terrain. The Mad Hatter kept encouraging them to keep going, and saying that it wouldn't be much longer. "We're almost there," he said. "Almost there." But he seemed to repeat it several times over the first couple of hours. When it became apparent to Alice and Hatter that they were nowhere near 'almost there' the Mad Hatter stopped and continued on in silence for a little while.

Meanwhile Alice was thanking whoever it was up there that she'd worn sneakers this time. Navigating this forest in her boots would have slowed them down even more and, knowing her, she would have twisted an ankle. Hatter walked in thoughtful quiet. He was listening for the slightest out of place noise, wary and on edge. He'd felt eyes on him since even before they'd entered the forest, and the feeling had steadily worsened the longer they spent under the cover of the disturbingly odd trees. Hatter's uneasiness was increasing by the minute; he fervently hoped this leg of their journey would soon be over.

Gradually, the purplish-blue tinge everything had began to lighten and fade. The trees started to thin and they caught glimpses of open area between the trees up ahead. Hatter and Alice gave matching sighs of relief as the dark forest finally came to an end and they stepped out into a vast stretch of waist-high grass. Everything was a lot brighter, although still grey and gloomy-looking. But, Alice thought, it was still a vast improvement.

"Finally," she heard Hatter mumble at her side.

"Don't get too optimistic yet," advised the Mad Hatter, who was still continuing to walk despite the refreshing – if bleak – change in scenery. "We'll be returning to the trees again soon." The Cheshire cat leapt from his shoulder and disappeared into the grass. The Mad Hatter continued to walk, the grass ahead of him rustling as the cat moved on ahead.

"Oh, and don't stop," he called over his shoulder. Alice opened her mouth to ask why, and was cut off by a deafening, air horn-like noise. She spun to her right, searching for its source. Her hands flew to her mouth; trembling slightly, she shrank back into Hatter's open arms. Thirty feet away, long tails coiling in spirals, wings folded tightly against their backs, was a herd of maybe five or six monsters. Alice had thought one Jabberwock was terrifying enough. Six of them in once place, albeit seemingly grazing, was beyond imagination. She tried to regain control of herself and started walking again, Hatter keeping a close eye on the Jabberwock herd. Alice didn't want to even consider what could happen if the things noticed their presence.

They were halfway across the meadow before either of them noticed. While the Mad Hatter strolled through with ease, Hatter and Alice were struggling through grass taller than any Alice had seen before – and it was _blue_. It seemed to shimmer in the odd light as they pushed it aside, and occasionally she thought she saw the blades a few feet away move. Once or twice she _knew _she felt something scurry over her foot, but she didn't dare look down. Hatter, on the other hand, was a little more brave when it came to scurrying things.

He regarded the little winged lizard on the toe of his boot with sudden curiosity, smiling. It was a deep blue, like the grass – camouflage, he supposed. Its small wings were folded neatly against its back, twitching slightly as it looked up at him with large, glassy black eyes. As he watched it opened its little jaws to emit a soft clicking sound, revealing a mouth filled with only a few teeth. He found it more adorable than anything. Internally, Hatter rolled his eyes; adorable? He, David Hatter, was finding a reptile adorable? Alice was turning him into a softie. But then the little thing took off into the grass, and Hatter continued walking again.

They managed to cross the open area without any trouble, although once Alice almost shrieked when one of the little blue lizards darted up out of the grass in front of her, wings flapping silently, and settled on the top of the Mad Hatter's hat. He didn't seem to acknowledge its presence, and even the Cheshire cat – who had now returned to her spot on his shoulder - ignored its landing on her master. But then the trees reappeared on either side of them, and they were once again swallowed by the inky darkness of the forest. "How much longer, Hatter?" Hatter asked, and then did a double take. It was just too weird saying his own name. The Mad Hatter flashed a bright grin at them over his shoulder, reaching up to scratch the Cheshire's ears. The lizard didn't even flinch.

"Not long now," he answered. "It feels like late afternoon to me – we should be about half an hour away from our destination. We're ahead of schedule."

"There'll be food there, right?" asked Alice, sounding hopeful. "Because I'm starving."

"I could kill for some of Charlie's barbecued Boaragove right now," Hatter muttered, reaching for Alice's hand.

"Of course," said the Mad Hatter. "There'll be food, and an opportunity to rest. Although, admittedly, there is much talking to be done." Alice sighed.

"Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers." She paused, eyeing the lizard with concerned curiosity. "Those...things...they aren't dangerous, are they?"

"They're nothing I've ever seen before," Hatter put in.

"They're from the Otherworld. They came through the Looking Glass and, unlike most of the creatures that came through, are completely harmless. They're also a popular means of communication." The lizard made a few of its clicking noises, as if to prove the Mad Hatter's point.

"Communication?" Hatter was immediately full of more questions; Alice, on the other hand, was silent and trying not to think about the very _un_-harmless things that would have come into Wonderland too. "What, like...carrier pigeons?"

"Carrier _lizards_," the Mad Hatter corrected.

Hatter couldn't help it. He gave a snort of amused disbelief and almost awed surprise. When they got to wherever it was that they were going, whoever was there was going to have a lot of questions to answer. Hatter had no intention of resting until he had nothing left to ask. It was a moment or so before he realised that the feeling of being watched had returned. Out in the open the uncomfortable feeling had disappeared, but now that they were within the forest again he could sense eyes following them. He looked around, but couldn't see anything. Although his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and it was easier to see, there was still a limit on the distance the limited light allowed him to scan.

He edged closer to Alice, leaning down so that he could whisper in her ear. "Alice, there's something watching us." Alice, like he knew she would, continued on as if he hadn't spoken a word.

"What is it?" she asked under her breath, eyes darting around.

"I don't know," Hatter admitted. "But there's something here. Don't you feel it?" Before, she hadn't felt a thing. But now that Hatter had brought it up Alice _did _feel very uneasy.

"Yeah. I do."

"Come on." Hatter tugged gently at her hand, picking up his pace. He waited until they were level with the Mad Hatter before speaking in a low whisper.

"Hatter, what's in this forest?" he asked. "We're not alone. What's watching us?" The Mad Hatter displayed no outward sign to give away that he'd heard him. Whether he did it on purpose or out of habit, Hatter didn't know, but it made him all the more on edge.

"The Fa'rae," the Mad Hatter answered. "Best not to pay attention to them. They like to be left well alone."

It seemed like an eternity, but eventually the Mad Hatter stopped in his tracks, and Alice and Hatter followed suit. Before him was a large tree; there was no outward difference, no way to tell it apart from all the others. But still the Mad Hatter stopped in front of that one, and hitched his bag further up on his shoulder. "Here we are!" he announced with a smile. Before either Alice or Hatter could question his sanity again he stepped forwards and placed a hand on the trunk of the tree. At once the tree began to shake, silent but causing the ground to tremble beneath their feet. Alice held on tightly to Hatter's arm, watching in speechless horror as the earth at the base of the tree began to split open. The Mad Hatter motioned for them to step back out of the way.

It was like nothing either of them had seen before. The ground just simply opened up before them, parting smoothly like water, revealing stairs that descended down into the earth. The shaking stopped when the passage was wide enough for them to pass through, and all was still. The silence that followed seemed heavier than normal. "After you," said the Mad Hatter, gesturing for Alice and Hatter to go down the stairs. "I can assure you, it's quite safe."

Hatter glanced at Alice: she raised her eyebrows at him, as if asking what they should do. He looked back at the passage and sighed. As much as he didn't like diving headfirst unprepared into the unknown, especially when he had his Alice with him, it seemed like there was nothing else for it. They had come all this way for answers, and now the fate of Wonderland was once again in their hands. Hatter gave Alice's hand a gentle squeeze, and started forward. The staircase was lit only by little circular lights set into the steps of the staircase itself. There was one every few steps and the light was weak, but it was enough for them to at least make our where they were putting their feet. The staircase seemed to be wooden – the walls were smooth panelled wood too, although a slightly darker colour. As they descended deeper and deeper into the ground, they found the ceiling was panelled the same way.

Gradually the little square of soft light ahead of them grew larger, and, almost suddenly, the staircase came to an end. They stood in a little alcove of space, where another, larger circular light was set into the wall. Hatter peered closely at it, wondering what was keeping it lit. There wouldn't be any electricity out here, surely? The Mad Hatter joined them quickly and with a tap of the wall the far away purplish tinge of the forest disappeared, along with half of the stairs. When the shaking had stopped he smiled at them again; the Cheshire cat leapt back up onto his shoulder, but the lizard didn't budge and remained perched on his hat. "Come on, time for you to meet what's left of the Resistance." There was a dark, elegant looking wooden door set into the wall in front of them. The Mad Hatter knocked twice on its surface and a little slot opened up. Hatter was instantly reminded of when he had taken Alice to see Dodo.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" asked a familiar, gruff voice, and Hatter almost made a noise out of shock. The Mad Hatter chuckled, hat swaying, unbalancing the lizard who clicked and shifted.

"Well, it's simple of course. The clockwork isn't ticking properly."

"Duck?" Hatter asked. "Duck, is that you?"

"_Hatter_?" The mouth at the door slot was replaced with a pair of surprised blue eyes, and they peered up at him curiously. "Well if I'm not a Jabberwock...Owl?" Duck turned and called over his shoulder. "Owl, come look at this!" The slot was closed and with some clanking and quiet scraping the door swung inwards.

Alice wasn't sure what she had been expecting. But it definitely wasn't a well-lit circular room, with the same panelled walls and a domed ceiling; the ceiling wasn't too low and not too high, whilst being covered in delicate paintings of what appeared to be Wonderland history. The floor was also dark wood, with three doors that blended in with the panelling almost perfectly, spaced out at one end of the room. The room itself reminded Alice of Dodo's office at the Great Library. There were several stacks of books lining one part of the wall, and the furniture was comprised of a small, round table made of dark wood and surrounded by several matching chairs. A little fireplace took up the remaining wall space – Hatter supposed that they chimney part must reach all the way to the surface.

It occurred to him that they must be a lot further underground than he had first thought: he wasn't sure if the idea made him feel safe or uncomfortable. But then Duck closed the door behind them and locked it, and he decided that at least, down here, the world was sane. Kind of. One of the side doors opened, and out hurried a small woman with rounded glasses and a bow of cloth in her hair, wearing an apron. "What is it now, Duck?" she asked in a strong Scottish accent, closing the door behind her. "Has Lena brought another furry creature back? Because I've already told you, they're not pets – Blessed Aces!" Owl's hands flew to her mouth at the sight of Hatter and Alice, shock written plainly across her face. "Hatter!"

She hurried forwards, throwing her arms around the former smuggler. "You came back!" Owl cried and beamed at him, letting go only to grab onto Duck's arm in excitement, who was grinning now too. The two Resistance members hadn't aged a day, and they could only stand there and smile broadly at the long-lost heroes of Wonderland in disbelief. Hatter gave them a slightly bemused smile in return, surprised at the sudden and unexpected display of affection. He looked to Alice, who was at his side and smiling shyly, and then to the Mad Hatter, who had already removed his bag and seated himself at the table. The cat and lizard were in front of the fire, seemingly at ease with one another's presence. Eyes glowing an icy blue in the warm, golden light that bathed the room, the Mad Hatter smiled at Hatter and Alice, and gestured to the room around them.

"Alice, Hatter – this is Wonderland's last remaining Resistance outpost. Welcome home."

* * *

**Okay, so...there are more questions to be answered! Like ages and times and all this other stuff, but everything will be answered eventually, I promise :] Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! xxxx**


End file.
